A/HRC/24/12 enforcement agencies and criminals is duly investigated as per existing laws and Codes of Conduct. She expressed concern over the rising trend of abduction under false personification of the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and said that more than 540 such criminals had already been arrested. She reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to end the culture of impunity and recounted the initiatives taken to conclude the trials of the selfproclaimed killers of the country’s founding President and members of his family, and to hold the ongoing trials of the local perpetrators who committed crimes against humanity and genocide during the 1971 War of Liberation through domestic tribunals, pursuing the principle of complementarity under the Rome Statute. The Foreign Minister also reiterated her Government’s commitment to build a secular society and not to countenance any threat and attacks against the country’s religious minorities such as the attacks on Buddhists in Ramu the previous year or the recent attacks against the Hindu community. She highlighted the Constitutional recognition given to the country’s ethnic groups and tribal communities through the 15th Amendment and the measures taken to implement some of the critical issues under the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accords (CHT). 8. The Minister highlighted the role of the National Women Development Policy, 2011 in advancing women’s empowerment and the stringent laws on domestic violence prevention, anti-trafficking and pornography control to combat violence against women. She underlined the Government’s success in reducing child and infant mortality and current focus on increasing retention rate in schools, combating malnutrition and stunting, and eliminating child labour from hazardous sectors. The Foreign Minister referred to the National Labour Policy and the recent amendments to the Labour Act of 2006 to ensure better workplace safety and collective bargaining for workers. She also raised the human rights concerns of migrant workers and flagged the Expatriates Welfare Act, 2013 to promote their rights and well-being. The Foreign Minister elaborated on the concrete measures taken by her Government to protect the rights of the vulnerable and marginalized groups in society, including persons with disabilities and refugees, among others. 9. The Minister underscored the impact of poverty on people’s full enjoyment of human rights and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the Right to Development as an essential precondition for human rights. She enumerated the positive strides made during the last four years to reduce poverty by 10 per cent, enhance food security, improve public health through community clinics, and increase investment in the education and information technology (IT) sectors. The Minister also underlined Bangladesh’s challenges as a climate-vulnerable country and mentioned the Human Rights Council Resolution steered by Bangladesh and the Philippines in 2012 on Climate Change and Human Rights in the context of climate justice. She also appreciated the role of civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in complementing the Government’s development efforts and the media’s contribution to expanding democratic space for citizens’ participation. The Minister said her Government would continue to promote human rights education and awareness to ingrain a culture of human rights in society. Finally, she said that during the review period the Government had laid the groundwork for change that would enable Bangladesh to take off to the next stage of development and emancipation. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 10. During the interactive dialogue, 97 delegations made statements; among them, 94 delegations made recommendations. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in chapter II of the present report. 11. Most delegations expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy for the victims of the building collapse in Bangladesh and the Minister thanked them. 4